


worst birthday ever

by Balthuza



Category: Shards of the Sun
Genre: Gen, Idiots, all of them are idiots, fake birthday, nil keeps getting hurt, ok albany's not he's the only adult there apparently
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-24
Updated: 2017-03-24
Packaged: 2018-10-10 00:55:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10425645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Balthuza/pseuds/Balthuza
Summary: He feels like there's a wasps’ nest in the back of his head. He's almost certain it is Garl’s fault, but he refuses to answer Nil’s questions, and honestly this faux-birthday thing is way too complicated to keep on worrying about the god.





	

He feels like there's a wasps’ nest in the back of his head. He's almost certain it is Garl’s fault, but he refuses to answer Nil’s questions, and honestly this faux-birthday thing is way too complicated to keep on worrying about the god. 

When he almost breaks his neck trying to not step on Prokopis’ chickens that for whatever reason decide to have a party in front of his doors it does not make his day better. 

It isn't that surprising when Leo does not show what all, with all the noise and people around, but Nil can't help to be worried. 

The buzzing gets even worse, and Nil very intently rolls his eyes at the god. 

It doesn't help the matter at all. 

When Nil finally sees Leo, right by Oswald’s side, he can't help but instantly stop and give him a worried once over. 

Leo looks terrible. 

There are deep shadows underneath his eyes, and the smile he gives Nil is more tired than anything else. Halfway through to them, wondering what could wear out Leo like that, the buzzing stops and the only thing left is frigid silence. It's sudden enough to make him stumble, catching himself at the very last moment. 

At least until an invisible leg kicks him in his ankle. Between his surprise and the already unsteady position, he manages to fall, missing Leo’s and Oswald’s outstretched hands by inches and smashes face first into a chair. 

He hates hitting his head, there's always a chance he'll end up with scar, and knowing his luck it wouldn't even be a sexy one. As he tries to get up and assess the damage, too busy to even swear at Garl, there are hands on him, helping him up and trying to check his face. Nil, one eye visible, other closed under the blood flowing from the injured forehead, looks at Oswald a bit bewildered. Leo already has a napkin in his hand and pushes his way through Oswald’s worry, Albany hovers behind them for a moment, until he snorts and shakes his head at Nil. 

More or less cleaning up the blood, Leo sits down on a chair next to where Oswald forces Nil sit in. Looking at him Nil can't help but decide his first conclusion was right - Leo looks awful. He slumps in the chair, and almost flinches when Nil gently touches his arm. 

When he asks him: ‘are you alright?’ Leo looks at him like he's being an idiot. Oswald tells him to shut up and let him clean up rest of the blood. 

Leo opens and closes his mouth for a moment and Nil watches him from the corner of his eye, Oswald still trying to fix his face, waiting for him to speak. He notices the way Leo’s eyes dart to the cake for a second and decides to speak if Leo won't. 

‘I love it. It's amazing.’ He smiles at Leo and does not comment on how red his face becomes. 

It's but a moment until Oswald deems his face is good enough for now, at least til Cosimo or some cleric will get a look at it. With some disgust Nil watches the bloodstains on his shirt and, shadowed by Oswald, climbs the stairs to his room. Leo stays in the dining hall downstairs, dragged into a conversation with Albany, but only half present, obviously lost in thoughts.

A glint of light by his door takes him by surprise. Oswald automatically reaches to catch him, but Nil only bends down to pick the thing up, sad remains of a ribbon next to it, Prokopis and his chickens long gone. 

It's Leo's work, he can see instantly. The flowers flow down his hand like water, gold and glittering. The hairpin is stunningly beautiful and Nil stands there like an idiot until Oswald touches his arm, and even then he can't tear his eyes away. Oswald looks half fond, half amused when he asks him to put it in his hair after he changes his clothes, and only raises his eyebrows at Nil when he insists on taking a pocket mirror in his hand going back downstairs. 

It takes barely until after Oswald takes his mirror away, saying that he's not going to watch him fall down the stairs and die, that suddenly stops and looks at Nil with wide eyes. 

‘Did anyone told Leo it's not your real birthday?’

Nil manages to trip on his feet and ends up with a twisted ankle and a bruise sprawling on half of his hand where he tried to catch himself. 

Oswald tries to catch him and has to just sit on the stairs when something in his knee gives up with a sound. 

When Albany and Leo check out what happened they're there in an instant. Albany looks conflicted for half a second, not sure who to take care of first, but when Leo goes straight to Nil he climbs the few steps to reach the Prince. Nil insists he is absolutely fine, just needs to walk it off, and Oswald sits on the step, watching his knee with a slightly ill look. 

From his place Nil moans about worst fake-birthday ever, then starts babbling when Leo looks at him, hands still hovering over his ankle. 

Albany just sighs, and ignores them for a second, trying to gently check Oswald’s knee,the man himself evidently following the conversation below him closely enough to ignore the prodding. 

He tunes it out until he hears Nil’s shocked ‘what do you mean you don't know what your birthday is?’ followed closely by ‘would you like, like a test ones? If you don't like it we can forget about it. I mean, you'd get your gifts late and all, but we can make it your birthday?’. 

Albany sighs again. It's going to be a long week. 

  
  
  



End file.
